Ambulatory pumps and hospital-based fluid delivery systems are used to deliver fluids into the bodies of patients. For some therapies, sensor measurements of a patient's physiological characteristics are used to calculate fluid dosage requirements. Typically, a sensor monitor is used to collect sensor data from a sensor, calibrate the sensor data to generate sensor measurements, and display the sensor measurements. Next, the patient or a caregiver manually calculates the required fluid dosage based on the displayed sensor measurements. Finally, the patient or caregiver programs the pump or fluid delivery system to adjust the fluid dosage.
For example, patients with Type 1 diabetes and some patients with Type 2 diabetes use insulin to control their blood glucose (BG) level. Typically, if a patient's BG level is too high, the patient can inject a “bolus” (dose) of insulin to lower his/her BG level from its present level to a desired target level. Furthermore, the patient may inject a bolus of insulin in anticipation of ingesting carbohydrates, thus heading off a sharp rise in his/her BG level. Presently, a patient or caregiver must measure the patient's blood glucose using a BG monitoring system, such as a continuous glucose measurement system, a test strip meter, a hospital-based measurement system, or an automated intermittent blood glucose measurement system. When the BG monitoring system has generated a BG measurement, the BG measurement is displayed on the BG monitoring system. Next, the patient or caregiver must visually read and then utilize the BG measurement to manually calculate a required insulin bolus (i.e., the amount of insulin to inject). Finally, once the required insulin bolus is calculated, the patient or caregiver must utilize an insulin delivery device (e.g., infusion pump, injection pen, IV meter, or the like) to deliver the insulin bolus into the patient's body.
Unfortunately, this process requires the patient or caregiver to handle several pieces of equipment, including the BG monitoring system and the insulin delivery device, which may discourage the patient or caregiver from using the BG measurements to adjust the insulin dosage, and thus, decrease the efficacy of the insulin delivery device. Additionally, if the BG monitoring system and the insulin delivery device are not developed in conjunction with one another, they typically communicate using different frequencies and/or modes of communication, and as a result, cannot communicate directly with one another. Thus, the patient or caregiver must manually calculate the required insulin bolus and program the insulin delivery device accordingly, which requires effort by the patient or caregiver and is subject to calculation errors. Alternatively, the patient or caregiver must manually enter the BG measurement into an electronic computing device with bolus estimation software for calculating the required insulin bolus (e.g., a computer, the Internet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or an insulin delivery device, such as an infusion pump, injection pen, IV meter, or the like), which also requires effort by the patient or caregiver and is subject to transcription errors. For example, the patient or caregiver may not accurately enter the BG measurement that is displayed on the BG measurement device into the electronic computing device, and thus, the resulting bolus estimate calculation may not be accurate.